Triskadecalia

My Risting instructor, along with the owners of a local witches store, decided to throw a party for Triskadecalia (the festival of 13). It was originally planned as a PJ party, but later was changed to just a casual evening of fun, black magic and Pagan movies.

Since my Risting instructor invited all of his students, I decided to go, thinking that there would be people I knew there.

I was wrong.

When I arrived, one of the store owners was there, along with my instructor. There was another woman there, whom I hadn't met before. She was very nice, if maybe a bit wacky. She was not a witch, but very into New Age theories.

She left early. As soon as she cleared the doorway, the others started to make in fun of her. I bristled at that, thinking it was mean-spirited and uncalled for. The rest of the evening did not get any better.

Soon, three UNR students joined in, and then a few others as well. The crowd was a strange mix of people...most of whom seemed to have a mean side to their personality. I wanted to leave, but every time I found a moment to escape, my instructor seemed to pick up on it, and would draw me into the conversation, keeping me there.

A few hours into the evening, one of the store owners finally brought down the ingredients for the Black Cat oil we were going to mix and use. The bowl of ingredients was passed around, and each one of us stirred our intent into the bowl. Afterward, we were each given a vial of the oil, while my instructor taught us how to use it.

He took a black candle, anointed it, and showed us the intricate details of the spell. Then he cast it, while we watched. He placed the lit candle on a makeshift alter, and we proceeded with the rest of the evening.

Finally, I had my chance to escape. My instructor's parting words were to use the oil when we all got home, as the best time to use Black Cat Oil was on Friday the 13th.

When I got home, I pulled out my black candle, closed the circle, and began the ritual. When I opened the circle, I noticed the candle was burning cleanly; a sign the magic was working.

I went to bed, and slept fitfully. However, come morning, I could not shake the bad vibes I had from the night before.

I spent the following morning (Saturday) crying on and off. Hunky asked me what was wrong, and I told him that I was sure it had something to do with the energy from the night before. Most of the people were mean-spirited, and I think that went home with me.

Later that morning, I spoke with a local friend about the incident. Her advice was that the oil, mixed with every one's intentions, was the real culprit. She suggested I get rid of it and never use it again.

After speaking with her, I did a purification ritual on myself, and felt much better. However, later when I returned home, the feelings came back to me. I can only surmise that even though I purified myself, I had not purified the room I did the magic in, therefore that bad energy was still hanging around the room.

Saturday afternoon, I met with two friends who had decided not to go to the party. We discussed what happened, and became concerned with the upcoming Halloween party the same place is throwing. We all have our costumes pretty much done, and were planning to go together, but all agreed that if the crowd is anything like the crowd at the Friday the 13th party, we might be better off skipping it, and going to the Witches Ball instead.

Even five days afterwards, I'm still feeling the effects of that evening. While I'm not completely sure of what went on or what I carried back with me, I know this: I hope to never find myself in a similar situation again.